Fruit juicing apparatus



Feb. 24,1942. R. R. SMITH FRUIT JUICING. APPARATUS v Filed March 7, 19:69 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1t, INVENTOR.

K "Mam ATTORNEY Feb. 24, 1942. R. R. SMITH FRUIT JUICING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 INVENTOR, BWWWM ATTORNEY F b. 24, 1942. R, M H 2,274,306

' FRUIT JUiC ING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1939 v v z Sheets-Sheet s ATTORNEY gvszvgok. I

Patented Feb. 24, 1942 UNITEDI'JSTATE SPAITENT OFFICE FRUIT JUICING APPARATUS Ralston R. Smith, Vallejo, Calif. Application March 7, 1939, Serial No. 260,34'l

13 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the extracting of juices from fruitsiand is more particularly directed to an improved apparatus especially adaptable for the extracting of juices from citrus fruits without objectionable modification of their natural color, flavor, and aroma.

It is the principal object of the present invention-to provide an apparatus for efficiently extracting the juice, from citrus fruit with aminimum degree of aeration and with a minimum contamination thereof with undesirable constituents present in the rind and in the tissues surrounding the juice cells or sacs and with a maximum retention of those substances responsible for the natural color, flavor, and aroma of the juice and for its nutritive. value.

In citrus fruits, the juice is present in small keted in the cloudy condition in order to retain the natural color, flavor, and aroma of the fresh fruit juice, which are to a large extent due to the suspended finely divided particles, chromato-' phores, present in the juice sacs and containing the carotinoid pigments that give the juice its orange color and much of its flavor and aroma, and since orange juice cleared of these desirable constituents would be straw yellow in color, rather insipid in flavor, and lacking in fruity aroma, the apparatus to be employed should be capable'of extracting the fruit juice in a manner promoting a minimum contamination thereof by those agencies responsible for bitterness and a maximum retention therein of the elements promoting'thedesired color, flavor, and aroma.

multicellular, spindle or club=shaped juice sacs which completely fill the segments or carpels of the fruit that aredistributed about the soft pithy core. Each segment is surrounded by a, carpellarymembrane and closely adherent to the outer carpellary membrance of the several segments we flnd the vascular elements. The surrounding l rind-or peel consists of an inner, white, spongy portioni the albedo, and an outer colored portion, V

the flavedo which contains the oil glands, the peel oil being present in balloon-shaped cells which are more or less easily broken and consisting largely of terpenes and of citral which are mainly responsible for its strong acid flavor.

Substances responsible for the development of bitterness in the extracted juice are located chiefly in the carpellary membranes, thevascular elements, and the inner'peel, as well as in the seeds-which contain intensely bitter elements; pectic substances and pectic enzymes being present largely in the inner peel together with the oxidizing enzyme, peroxidase, which is also present to a marked degree in the vascular element's.

While it is obvious that a rupturing of the carpellary membrane enclosing the segments or carpels is necessary for the extraction of juice contained in the uice sacs; it will be evident that it is highly undesirable to produce an excessiveshredding and grinding-of such membrane and adjacent vascular elements or a squeezing thereof such as would release into the fruit juice an appreciable amount of the undesirable "ragjuice; that is, the bitter juices cont ined in the carpellary membranes and pith. It will also be evident that any pressure tending to squeeze Second only to the retention ofcolor, flavor destruction by oxidation.

Fruit juices in general, and citrus juices in particular, deteriorate in color, flavor, and much of their fresh aroma on exposure to air, and suiier an appreciable loss in nutritive value due to the destructionof vitamin C by oxidation.

Because of the presence of air in the intercellular spaces of the fruit and because of the difiiculty of extracting the juice without some aeration, extraction should be conducted under conditions which minimize the amount of air incorporated into the juice through the juicing operation.

In the most commonly used method for extracting juice from citrus fruits, the whole fruit is cut in half at right angles to the axis of growth, and the juice is extracted by pressing the halved fruit against a revolving conical ribbed or grooved extractor or burr with a resulting pressing and tearing action which incorporatesappreciable amounts of air, oil, and undesirable tissue into the product, as well as. the intensely bitter elements released by the seeds which are cut during from the peel but more aeration and more con- 'tamination with other tissues, the reverse being true at low'speeds and greater pressure.

citrus oil from the rind should not be employed.

Citrus "fruit iuices, particularly orange j ice intended for beverage purposes, is generally m r- It is recognized that, orange juice intended for beverage purposes must not contain an appreciable amount of rind oil orother bitter ele- ,ments. Consequently, in order to keep down the degree of contamination of the expressed fruit juice by oil pressed from the rind, at the expense of greater aeration, thepressure burr machines usually employed are of the high speed type in which. the burr revolves at a speed which produces aeration to a degree rendering the expressed juice subject to rapid deterioration, particularly the destruction by oxidation of the not desirable for producing beverage juices, even .when the juice is centrifuged to remove the oil.

Various other methods haveheretofore been practiced in which the extraction is accomplished, almost without exception, by maceration of the tissues and by the application of a squeezing pressure. Such methods which depend upon applied pressure are not satisfactory for the reason that the squeezing action does express from the tissues and peel the rag-juices and citrus oil which. constitute the elements mainly responsible for undesirable qualities in the produced fruit juice.

In its preferred embodiment, my invention contemplates holding the whole fruit against rotation in a manner to slightly elongate the fruit to a cylindrical form providing parallel side walls; slicing a spherical segment from an end of the elongated fruit to avoid cutting the seeds, to expose only a relatively small area of the cut pulp to the deteriorating action of the air, and to permit direct access to the interior of the fruit; and advancing into the pulp body a rotating element adapted to rupture the carpellary membranes and juice sacs to release the fruit juice, said rotating element being of such relatively soft and pliable character and of such size and shape as to function in the manner of a squilgee to produce only a relatively soft rubbing action against the interior of the inner rind and ad:

jacent carpellary membranes and no squeezing pressure of a degree suflicient to press oil from the fruit rind or an appreciable amount of ragjuice from the interior tissues, said element being rotated'at a speed below that which would produce undesirable aeration of the fruit juice. The invention is exemplified inthe following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l'is a side elevation of my improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

, thereof.

2,274,3oe, N

Fig. '7 is a detail section taken on the line VII-VII of Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of the front portion of the apparatus taken on the line VIII- VIII of Fig. and looking upward towards the underside of the top plate of the framework Fig. 9 is a sectional view similar to the medial portion of Fig. 3, but showing the orange in an elevated position it assumes during the juicing operation.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section taken on the line X.X of Fig. 9.

Referring more specifically to Figs. 1 to 8 of the drawings, it will be noted that I have provided a supporting framework comprising a base plate I 0 and 'a top plate II vertically spaced therefrom and supported thereon by four corner legs, all of which may be welded or otherwise secured together and suitably reenforced to provide a substantial rigid structure.

Preferably there is mounted on the base plate In an electric motor I2 and associated speed reduction unit I3 of any standard type suitable for driving the apparatus in the required manner, although it will be obvious that the apparatus may bedriven from any other availspectively, to said drive shaft I9 and said cam shaft 20, which cam' shaft is joumaled in a pair of transversely spacedbrackets 24 and 25 depending from and secured to the under surface of the top plate II.

Near the front of the machine, the top plate II is provided with a circular fruit receiving aperture 26 and aligned with this aperture and mounted upon said top plate II to extend rearwardly along the medial portion thereof is a fruit feeding mechanism which functions to convey fruit to said aperture and drop the fruit one at v a ,time therein to be operated upon by the juic- Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial section taken on d the line III-III of Fig. 2;but differing therefrom in that the parts are shown in the positions they assume just prior to the actual juice extracting operation.

Fig. 4 is a plan section taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 1,. the drive mechanism being eliminated from this view so as to show more clearly the parts associated with the cam shaft.

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section taken on the mg. mechanism, as will later be described. This feeding mechanism includes a horizontally disposed endless conveyer belt 21 rove about'a forward idler roller 28 and about a rear driven when, the idler roller 28 being joumaled on secured to the shaft 32 a belt pulley 34 which is driven by a belt 35 engaging a belt pulley 36 secured to the outer end of the cam shaft 20.

as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A horizontal table plate- 3] supported by the brackets 3| is disposed between the two rollers 28 and 29 and between the opposed flights of the conveyer belt in position'to contact and support the upper flight and its load.

Disposed on opposite sides of the conveyer belt 21 I provide'upright elongated guide plates, the plate 38 being fixed and the plate 39 being secured in place upon the top plate II by adjustable means whereby the transverse distance between the two guide plates may be varied to 'the conveyer is .adapte onveyfruia grad I grass 3 accommodate fruit f difiererit. -diameter.

: orange1brought to the, eceiving aperture tal stop arm 51 which is positioned below the Since there is acertain' e ndent ro fio s gripping members and normally extends across between the operations andirelative timing [of the.

- feed control means and thejuicing mechanism, it the vertical center of the fruit path. The stop is believed desirable to firstdescribe said mechaarm- 51 is secured to a verticalshaft 58 and is nism before proceeding with a detail description 10 provided with a horizontal knife blade 59 which I of said feed control, and while the apparatus is is disposed immediately below the bottom edges adaptable for the juicing of various citrus fruits, of the gripping members in position to slice a I will hereinafter refer more particularly to its spherical segment from the bottom portion of an use for the purpose of juicing oranges. orange :held stationary .by the gripping means,

Secured to the undersideof the top plate the knife blade being provided with a series of.

" beforesimilar movement of the gripping dropsthroughsaid aperture between the nor- 1 ly open-gripping members and onto a horiconcentric with the fruit receiving aperture 26 is prongs 50 extending from its rear edge and bent an annular track member 40 and surrounding l downwardly and forwardly towards its cutting this track member is a cam ring 4| having an inedge in a manner to engage and eject the I ternal flange 41' engaged in an annular groove spherical segment, sliced from the orange bythe formed in the member 40, the cam ring thus knife. I being mounted for oscillation in relation to the I The actuation of the shaft 58 also controls the stationary track member. feeding of, thefruit to the juicing mechanism,

As shown in Fig. 8 the cam ring 4| is, at 90 and its upper end above the top plate II has seintervals, notched and formed to provide angled cured thereto a control lever 6| disposed atone cams 43, and is yieldingly maintained in-normal side of the forward end ofthe conveyer, as shown position by a spring 44. Mounted in slideways in Figs. 1 and 2. A trip finger B2 is pivoted at 45 formed on the lower surface of the track 53 and normally projects above the conveyerin member 40 are four horizontal plungers 46 arthe path of the o'ranges A and is connected to ranged at 90 intervals about the center of the the rear end of the control lever 6| by a rod 54 fruit receiving aperture for radial reciprocationao pivoted 'to said finger and slidably extendingin relation to saidcenter, each of said, plungers through a bore formed in a stud 65 which is jourhaving at its outer end an anti-friction roller naled on said lever, there being a coil spring 56 41 normally disposed in the path of the resurrounding said rod between the trip finger and specti've cam 43 of'the oscillatory cam ring 4|. said stud and an abutment collar'61 fixed on I Each of said plungers has detachably secured .15 the free end of said rod. in'position to engage in its inner end the shank 48 of a fruit gripping said stud.

member, the-two opposed gripping members 49 The forward end of the lever 6| has secured each providing a vertical wall which is arcuate thereto a circular cap member 68, the lower surinhorizontal cross-section, and the two opposed face of which is. disposed closely adjacent the gripping members 50 each providing a vertical u wall disposed at right angles to the associated caved to receive the upper end of anorange enupper surface of the top plate II and is con-.

plunger and having a medial arcuate portion of gaged by the fruit gripping means, said lever the same curvature as the arcuategripping memalso being provided I with an uprig t Stop bers 49 so that when the four'gripping members flange 59.

are brought together, they form a vertical hol- The means employed for oscillating the'verti-' low open-ended cylinder surrounding the orange. cal shaft 58 comprises a cam 10 secured on the The several gripping members are disposed withcam shaft 20 in position to engage a roller "II V v in the fruit'receiving aperture 26 and extend carried on the lower end are. rocker arm 12 downwardly from the top plate II a distance whose upper end portion is pivotally connected somewhat less than the height of the orange so 50 to the arm 51 by a connecting link I3 (see Figs. I ,that a portion of an orange held between said 5 a d a ocke ar 72 being Secured 13 1 members will extend below the lower edges rod with-its upper end yieldingly held. by a thereof, and each of said members and its assospring 14 in contact with a stop member 15 deciated plunger, as a unit, is normally yieldingly pending from the top plate held in retracted position by a spring 5|, as 5:, I The mechanisms thus far described function shown in Fig. 8. It will of course be obvious in in relatively timed sequence to deposit the conditioning the apparatus for handling oranges oranges one at a time at a juicing station, to congraded to other sizes, that the detachable gripdition the orange for thejuicing operation and ping members 49 and 59 will be replaced by to hold the orange against rotationthroughout others of the appropriate size and radius of t said juicing operation. II curvature. With a row of oranges A having been fed along To oscillate the cam ring 4|, I provide a cam the conveyer until arrested by the trip finger 92' 52 secured on the cam shaft 20 in position to (as shown in Fig. 2) and assuming that an engage a roller 53 carried by the lower end of a orange A has been deposited through the fruit rocker arm 54 whose upper end is pivotally -connected to the cam ring through a connecting 51 between the gripping members 49 and 59 (as receiving aperture 26 to rest upon the stop arm link 55 (as shown in Figs; 6 and 8), said rocker. shown in Fig. 5 and as indicated by adottedarm being looselymounted on a pivot rod 56 'circle in Fig. 2), the described mechanism will journaled in the two depending brackets "24 and function in the following manner.

- 25, as shown in Fig. 4. From an examination of As the cam shaft .20 is rotated, the cam ring Fig. 8, it will be noted that normally the cams 4| will start its oscillation (in the direction of 43 Mesa disposed in relation to the adjacent thelarrow in Fig. 8), first to cam the opposed Y rollers 41 that oscillation o the am ring, in gripping members 59 towards each other to enthe direction of the arrow in said- Fig. 8, will gage oppositesides of the orange and to close 4' 'cause the gripping members 55 to approach each '5 the gaps between the several gripping members,

and then to cam the opposed gripping members M 49 inwardly to engage the orange, the four gripping members thus surrounding and gripping the orange with sufiicient force to slightly elongate the orange andto prevent its rotation during the juicing operation.

The-cam 18 will at this time engage the roller 'II to actuate the rocker arm I2 and through the connecting link I3 oscillate the stop arm 51 and.

the knife 59., and also the vertical shaft 58 to which the arm 51 issecured. This horizontal oscillation of the knife 59 across the vertical axis of the orange will slice. from its lower end a- [veyer (as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2).

-With this movement of the lever 6|, the trip finger 62 will be rocked outwardly to release the lead orange A which will be carried forward by the conveyer belt until it is arrested by engagement with the stop flange 89, said trip finger being positioned so that, upon its subsequent release by normalizing movement of the lever 6|, it will engage the next succeeding orange, this arrangement providing an automatic unit feed of oranges to the juicing mechanism.

The juicing mechanism isdisposed below the .top plate II in vertical axial alignment with the fruit receiving aperture 26 and is carried by an elevator 16 arranged for vertical reciprocation on a vertically disposed track 11 which is of rectangular cross-section and extends between and is rigidly connected to the base plate I8 and the top plate II. This elevator slidably embraces the track 11 and is provided with anti-friction rollers 18 arranged in pairs to engage the opposed edges thereof and with lateral ears I9 between which is removably bolted a lateral arm 88 (see Figs. 1 and 3).

In the lateral arm 88 of the elevator I8 is seing vulcanized thereto is an outer covering providing a vertical cylindrical wall 93 and a slightly convex top wall 94, these walls being provided 'with outwardly projecting radial ribs 95 circularly spaced around the cylindrical-wall 93 and extending lengthwise thereof and slightly spiraled in the direction of rotation and continuing across the top wall 94 to meet at the axial center of theguished from a harsh grinding" action such as would produce excessive maceration of the fruit tissue, particularly the carpellary membrane and pith, and .an excessive squeezing of such tissue and the fruit rind. To this end I prefer to form the walls 93 and 94 of the reamer and the ribs 95 thereof of relatively soft flexible material such .as rubber, although other materials having similar characteristics may be employed.

The reamer shaft 88 extends downwardly through a belt pulley 96 which is journaled in a stationary bracket 91 extended laterally from the lower portionof the track bar I1 and which is retained against vertical movement by a shoulder engaging the upper surface of said bracket and by a .collar 98 secured to the lower end of the hub of said pulley and engaging thelower surface of the bracket, as shown in Fig. 5.

. connection with the motor l2 through an endless This pulley 96 is splined to the reamer shaft 88 by'means of a key 99 engaged within a longitudinal groove formed inathe shaft and is in driving juice will not ordinarily occur, although there cured the lower end of an upright tube 8| having 4 an external annular groove near its upper end adapted to receive a clevisstop ring 82 (see Fig. 10). Slidable on said tube is the tubular core 83 of a juice receiving cup 84 which is provided 9. cupped disc 8'! engaging the lateral arm 88 of the .elevatonsaid spring exerting its tension to spective depending brackets '24 and 25.

normally maintain the cup 84 in its'uppermost' position in relation to the tube 8| with the upper end of'its tubular core 83 engaged against the stop ring 82.

Rotatably journaled within the tube 8| is a rotary reamer shaft 88 which has fixed thereon a collar 89 engaging the lower surface of the arm 88 of the elevator, and disposed within the cup '84 is a juicing reamer B. This reamer is preferably formed to provide a cylindrical metal core having a head portion 98- secured by a set screw Secured to this megeal.

may be a variation of as much as twenty per cent in the speed employed, depending upon the condition and character of the fruit.

The means employed for raising the elevator I6 comprises a lever I82 pivotally connected at its forward end to said elevator by a link I83 and having at its rearmost end a cam roller I84 positioned for engagement by a cam I85 mounted on the cam shaft 28, said lever being loosely pivoted on a rock-shaft I86 joumaled in the re- In the present instance I depend upon the weight of the elevator and themechanism carried thereby for returning such mechanism and elevator totheir lowermost positions with the elevator engaging a stop I81 on the track bar I1. understood that this mechanism may be positively lowered by an enclosed cam, by spring means, or by other means' suitable for the purpose. I I

As shown in Fig. 3, the juicing mechanism will be elevated to .bring the cup 84 in position to directly receive the extruded juice and to position the juicing reamer for upward reciprocation into and out of the orange disposed between the gripping members. Since the juicing reamer B is constantly rotating and may tend to throw the extruded juice outwardly, the cup is provided However, it will be for the splash ring I08 in order to insure a substantially fluid-tight engagement thereof with the gripping'members without a necessity for greataccuracy in the stroke length of the cup travel and to this end said splash ring is provided with diametrically opposite ears I08 carrying depending rods I I0, each of which rods being vertically slidable'in relatively spaced lugs I-II secured to the inner wall surface of the cup and surrounded bya cushioning compression sprin II2 disposed between the respectiveear I09 and the adjacent lug -I I I. To limit upward movement of the splash ring I08 and to permit removal thereofto facilitate cleaning of the cup, I prountil its upper edge engages the lower surfaces of the several horizontal plungers 46 which carry the fruit gripping members and are at this time in their innermost positions. This slight extra elevation of said cup in relation to the arrested splash ring causes compression of the cushioning springs II2 which yieldingly support said ring and which'provide a compensating means rendering fine adjustment of the elevator stroke unvide opposed leaf-spring stop fingers II3 secured v at their lower ends to the cup and engaged over the top rim thereof in position for engagement by the respective ears I00 of the splash ring I08. After the juice is extruded from an orange, the cup 84 is slightly lowered and the gripping members are separated to release the remaining rind shell which will drop upon the splash ring I08 and be carried downwardly with the juicing mechanism when the elevator is lowered, as shown in Fig. 1. Adjacent the top of the cup 84 when said cup is in its lower position and disposed in position to receive the empty rind shell, is an outwardly and downwardly angled shute II4 mounted upon one of the forward frame uprights, and for the purpose of kicking such empty rind shell into said shute for discharge from the machine there is provided a kicker arm H5 (see Figs. 1 and 4) which is loosely joumaled on-the lower end of the vertical shaft 58 between two collars fixed on said shaft. This arm H5 is connected by a link 8 to the upper end of an arm I I1 secured to the rock-shaft I06 which, as shown necessary. The cup now being in the arrested position shown in'Fig. 9', continued upward move merit of the elevator will compress the cup supporting spring and will translate the elevator tube 8I upwardly through the tubular core 83 of the cup to elevate the juicing reamer B into the orange, said reamer carrying with it the continuously rotating reamer shaft, 88 which slides through and is keyed to the belt pulleyflB.

As the revolving reamer enters the sliced end of the orange to break down the pulp body and extrude the fruit juice therefrom, the partitioning'carpellary membrane defining the fruit segments or carpels' will be ruptured and urged towards the inner rind where the rearwardly flexed reamer ribs 95 will tend to circularly fold them against the inner rind with a relatively soft rubbing action which will expel the fruit juice without squeezing the bitter juices from saidtmembrane and the fruit rind, the unbroken seeds entering the flutes formed by said ribs, as shown in Fig. 10 in which a designates the outer peel or flavedo' containing the oil glands, b designati'iig the inner rind. containing the vascular bundleswand c designating thev carpellary membrane.

As the reamer progresses upwardly into the orange, the fruit juice will flow down between the ribs of the reamer and into the receiving cup 84 and the orange will be pushed upwardly to engage its upper end into the concavity of the cap member 68, as shown in Fig. -9.

Upon completion of the juicing operation, the' elevator 16 will be lowered, the first effect being in Figs. 4 and 7', is provided with an arm 1I'8 carrying a roller I I9 positioned for engagement by a cam I20 secured on the cam shaft 20. An actuating'spring I2I extends from the pivot'rod 56 to the arm H8 and functions to swiftly operate the kicker arm H5 and its connected parts when the abrupt stepeof the cam I20 has passed the roller II9 to release the arm '8, the...relativelyfswift swing of the kicker arm II5 across the top of the loweredcup 84 effectively 'propelling the empty rind shellA into the receiving shute II4. Subsequentlythe cam I20 will cam the arm t I 8- downwardly to restore this kicker mechanism to normal condition." To prevent the juice receiving cup 84 from ro tating in relation to its supporting carriage or elevator 16, it is provided with a laterally projecting clevis bracket I22'which slidably engages an upright guide bar I23 rigidly'connected at its lower end to said elevator.

Continuing the description of the operation with respect to the juicing of the fruit (the feedto withdraw the reamer B from the remaining fruit shell until it is returned to its normal position in the cup with the stop ring 82 engaging the upper edge of the tubular core 83 of said cup, the spring 88 expanding but still retaining. sufllcient tension to maintain the cup in its uppermost position. A short continued downward 'movement of the elevator will disengage the release the fruit shell. The released fruit ,shell ing of the fruit, the gripping thereof and the slicing off of the lower end thereofhaving' heretofore been fully explained) and referring particularly to Figs. 3, 5, 9 and 10 of the drawings, the cam I05 will actuate the lever I02 to raise the elevator" and its associated juicing mechanism to the position shown in Fig. 3, at which point the splash ring I08 will engage the closed fruit gripping members and be arrested thereby. Upward movement ofthe cup 84*willcontinue.

win drop onto the splash ring I09 after which ,7

the elevator and the; entire juicing mechanism carried thereby will be lowered to the normal position shown in-Flg. 1 to bring the fruit shell A" to aposltionopposite chargeshute I I4. v

The cam I20 whichnormalizes the kicker arm the upper end of the .dis-

III! will have by this time reached the position' shown in Fig. 7, and willwith a slight continued degree of rotation release the arm I I8 whereupon the spring. m win 'oscil-late the rock-shaft I08 and its upright arm III to translate: the link H8 and swing the kicker arm 5 across the upper end of the cup 84 to kick the fruit shell A into the shute I I4.

sired sequence, the apparatus as awhole providing an automatic machine effecting a continuous unit handling of the fruit with complete elimination of human labor and in a manner which will The several mechanisms are relatively timed to perform .their respective functions in the de-- effectively extrude from each fruit unit a maximum percentage of the desired fruit juice and a minimum percentage of the rind oil, the bitter substances and other undesirable elements present in the peel, and in the seeds, the carpellary membrane and the vascular elements of the fruit. From the foregoing it will be evident that the seeds are not cut or ruptured to release their bitter properties, nor is the rind compressed to release the rind oil, and that by the relatively soft rubbing action of the reamer ribs the carpellary membranes, the vascular bundles and the inner rind are not subject to such squeezing pressure as would release an appreciable amount of their bitter elements. Further, it will be' evident that my improved apparatus provides an entirely automatic machine which feeds the fruit singly to a mechanism which holds the fruit against rotation while a spherical segment is sliced therefrom topermit entrance into the. fruit of the juicing reamer which immediately functions to extrude the juice without appreciable aeration thereof. While'the apparatus herein illustrated and described is fully capable of fulfilling the objects and purposes primarily stated, it is to be understood that I do not wish to restrict the invention to the specific embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible'of embodiment in various other forms, all coming within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the nature disclosed, -the combination of a fruit holding and compressing means operable to receive a' citrus fruit and compress the same to the form of a substantially "cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and hold thecitrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for actuating said holding means, knife means for slicing a spherical segmentfrom one end of said fruit to provide an opening affording access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means, a pliable rotary reaming element generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through saidppenin'g to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reaming element from the empty fruit shell.

2. In an apparatus of the nature-disclosed, the

combination of a fruit holding and compressing means operable to receive a citrus fruit and compress 'the same to the form of asubstantially cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and hold the citrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty' fruit shell, means for. actuating said holding means, knife means operable. in a plane intersecting the pulp body of the fruit outwardly from the seed zone thereof to remove a spherical seg.-.

ment from one end of said fruit to provide an opening affording access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means. a pliable rotary reaming element generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially'aligned with I l the longitudinal axis of the thus compressedfruit and said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reaming element from the empty fruit shell.

3. In an apparatus of the nature disclosed, the combination of a fruit holding and compressing means operable to receive a citrus fruit and compress the same to the form of a substantially cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and hold the citrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for actuating said holding means, knife means for slicing a spherical segment from one end of said fruit to provide an opening afforcliiig access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means, a pliable rotary reaming element generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and J said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through .said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reaming element from the 'emptyfruit shell, said reaming element mptur ing the juice sacs of the fruit and engaging the inner rind and adhering carpellary membrane with a squilgee wiping action during the juicing operation.

4. In an apparatus of the character disclosed,

eter with substantially semi-sph'erical ends and v hold the citrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and reversely translatable to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means 9 for translating said gripping members, knife means for slicing a spherical segment from one end of the fruit to provide an opening afiording access to thepulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means, a pliable rotary reaming 4.3 element generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reaming element from the empty fruit shell.

5. In an apparatus of the nature disclosed, the combination of a fruit holding and compressing -means operable to receive a citrus fruit and compress the same to the form of a substantially cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and'hold the citrus fruit against rotation comprising opposed arcuate gripping members operable to circularlyv embrace and compressthe fruit for a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means 'for actuating said gripping members, knife means for slicing a spherical segment from one end of the elongated fruit to provide an opening affording access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means. a pliable rotary reamer generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reamer into the fruit through said opening to juice theiruit and forsubsequentiy I awing said reamer from the, empty fruit shell.

able towards each other to receive a citrus fruit 6. In an apparatus of the nature disclosed, the

combination of a fruit holding means operable to hold a citrus fruit against rotation comprising opposed arcuate gripping members operable to circularly embrace and compress the fruit to slightly elongated form for a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for actuating said gripping members, knife means for slicing a-spherical segment from an end of the elongated fruit to provide an opening afford-- ing accessto the pulp body thereof, means foractuating said knife means, a rotary reamer axially aligned with the fruit and said opening and provided with pliable longitudinal ribs circularly spaced to provide intermediate seed receiving flutes and projecting radially to a diam eter slightly greaterthan the internal cylindrical diameter of the fruit rind so as to flex rearwardly' relative to the direction of rotation and have a squilgee wiping action against the inner rind and adhering carpellary membrane during the juicing operation, and reciprocable meansfor advancing said reamer into the fruit'through said open-' fruit shell, means for actuating said holding means, knife means operable in a plane intersecting the pulp body of the fruit outwardly from the seed zone thereof to remove a spherical segmentfrom one end of the fruit and provide an opening affording access to said pulp body, means for actuating said knife means, -a rotary reamer generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and said openingand having pliable'longitudinal ribs circularly spaced to provide intermediate seed receiving flutes, and reciprocable means for advancing said reamer citrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for feeding fruit singly to said holding means, means for actuating said holding means, knife means for slicing a spherical segment from one end of said fruit to provide an opening aifording access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife Ineans, 'a pliable rotary reamin'g element generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis axially aligned with the longitudinalaxis of the thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable' means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through saidopening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reaming element from the empty fruit shell.

10.'In an apparatus of the nature disclosed, I the combination of a fruit holding and compress-' ing means operable to receive a citrus fruit and compress the same to the form of a substantially cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends andhold the citrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell. conveyer means for propelling fruit to said holding means and associated control means for insuring a unit feed of saidfruit t0.

the holding means-means for actuating said holding means, knife means for slicing a spherical segment from one end of said fruit to provide an opening affording access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means, a pliable rotary reaming element generally cylindrical in external conto ur with its axis axial- 1y aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through saidopening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reaming element from the empty fruit shell.

11. Inan apparatus of the nature disclosed, the combination of a fruit holding and compressing means operable to receive acitrus fruit and compress the same to the form of a substantially cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and hold the into the fruit through said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reamer from the empty fruit shell.

8. In an apparatus of the'nature" disclosed, the combination of a fruit holding means, operable to hold a citrus fruit against rotation dur- 'ing a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for actuating said holding means, knife means operable in a citrus fruit against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for actuating said holding means, knife means for-slicing a spherical segment from one end of 'said fruit to provide an plane intersecting the pulp bodyof the fruit outwardly fromthe seed zone thereof to remove a spherical s'egmerit and provide an opening affording access to said pulp body, means for actuating said knife means, a rotary reamer axially:

aligned with the fruit and said opening and having pliable-longitudinal ribs slightly spiralledand circularly spaced to provide intermediate seed receiving fiutes, and reciprocabl means for advancing said reamer into the fruit through said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said reamer from the empty fruit shell. ,l

9. .In an apparat'usof the'nature disclosed, the combination of a fruit holding and compressing means operable to receive a citrus fruit and com press the same to the formofa'substantially cylindrical body of predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and hold the opening affording access to the pulp body thereof, means for actuating said knife means, a plias able rotary reaming element generally cylindrlcal in external contour with itsaxis axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable [means for advancing saidreaming'ele-- ment into the fruit through said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently withdrawing said I reaming element from the empty fruit shell, and

an ejector adapted to engage and eject the empty fruit shell.

12.- In an apparatus of the nature disclosed, the combination of a fruit holding and compressing means operable to receive a citrus fruit and compress the same to the form of a substantially cylindrical bodyof predetermined diameter with substantially semi-spherical ends and hold the citrus fruit'against rotation during a juicing operation and to subsequently release the empty fruit shell, means for actuating said holding means, knife meansifor slicing a spherical segment from one end of said fruitto provide an opening afiording access to the pulp body thereof, means, for actuating said knife means, a. pliable rotary reaming element generally cylindrical in external contour with its axis, axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the-thus compressed fruit and said opening, and reciprocable means for advancing said reaming element into the fruit through said opening to juice the fruit and for subsequently; withdrawing said reaming element from the empty fruit shell, and 10 vide intermediate flutes and adapted to flex rearwardly relative to the direction of rotation of the reamer.

RALSTON R. SMITH. 

